Alvero was a suffragette, civic leader, and member of the La Independencia staff. In 1896 she joined the Revolutionary Movement. In 1900 she founded the Instituto de Mujeres, the first non-sectarian school for young women. Rosa Sevilla Alvero wa born in Tondo, Manila on March 4, 1879. Her father, Ambrosio Sevilla, was a sergeant in the Spanish army and later, commander in the Philippine revolutionary forces; her mother was Silvina Tolentino. After attending the municipal school in Intramuros, she took a teacher''s course at the Assumption College where she obtained her degree with high honors. During the Revolution in 1898, she volunteered to nurse wounded soldiers in Bulacan. She was also on the staff of La Independencia. It was during this time that her parents died--her father as a captive of the Americans--leaving in her custody five younger brothers. After the war, on July 15, 1900, she opened the Instituto de Mujeres, a school for women established with the financial assistance of Father Manuel E. Roxas, Doña Ana Roxas and Susana Revilla, and became the directress for 45 years. In 1928, at the age of 49, she enrolled at the U.S.T. to finish her B.S.E and pursued her Master''s and Doctorate degrees. She then became the first Dean of Women of the U.S.T. Dña. Rosa was editor of La Vanguardia''s women''s section, a Tagalog fictionist, and author of Salitikan ng Wikang Pangbansa, in collaboration with her brother, Jose and son, Aurelio, with whom she had published also a Spanish grammar book in two volumes. Furthermore, she was a co-founder of the Federacion Catolica de Mujeres and the Liga de Damas Filipinas. As President of Kapulungang Balagatas she advocated the adoption of Tagalog as the national language and included its teaching in the Instituto curriculum. She was, moreover, a leader of the feminist movement. For her activities during the Japanese occupation like distributing relief goods, nursing soldiers and converting her school into a provisionary hospital, as well as for her various social work, she was awarded a Medal of Merit on July 3, 1948, by Pres. Elpidio Quirino. Rosa Sevilla died in Manila on May 4, 1954. she was married to Emilio Alvero, a painter, ceramic artist and interior decorator. They had 5 children.